HONOLULU (AP) —University of Hawaii professors have overwhelmingly accepted a new contract that cuts their salaries by 6.7 percent over the next 18 months but restores those reductions in mid-2011.

The University of Hawaii Professional Assembly said in a statement that the six-year pact was supported by 83 percent of the faculty who voted. The union represents about 3,600 professors and instructors who teach at UH system's 10 campuses.

It also calls for a 3 percent pay raise in 2014 and 2015, and three lump-sum payments to reimburse professors for the money lost in the pay cut.

Gov. Linda Lingle has said the university will have to raise tuition and find revenue sources other than the state's general fund to cover the contract's cost.